Spider-Man's Web-Shooter Toys Have Remained Consistently Cool for Decades

Spider-Man's web-shooters are one of the best toys to come out of a comic book, and what's more, they have been consistently cool for 40 years.

There are countless Marvel-related toys out there these days, but kids (and a lot of adults, as seen at comic-cons) want to be their favorite character. This makes fans yearn for fun — and, even more importantly, functioning — accessories.

One of my favorite characters has always been Spider-Man. The Parker name helped, but also, I was always super fascinated with his web-shooters. I thought they were cool. I wanted my own. And I was livid when Tobey Maguire's were organic. But I digress.

Sure, the plastic Thor hammer is cool to toss around, and everyone likes those foam Hulk fists. Captain America's shield is a classic. But the web-shooters just can't be beat for making a kid feel like they are the character.

The first iteration of the toy, made by FunStuf, came out in the mid-'70s. That was before my time, but the dart-and-string wrist-shooter was awfully inventive. And it is also so rare that there are currently none listed on eBay.

Later versions of the toy released around the time the '90s show Spider-Man: The Animated Series took off shot Silly String. It was a fantastic idea. I had a pair, and so did most of my pals. It looked like you were really shooting webbing. I mean, come on!

Other versions of the toy shot water, and one even shot a little web-glider.

The point is, other than the Batman utility-belt toy (DC, I know, but still), the web-shooters take the cake for a superhero accessory that makes the kid feel like the character.

Spider-Man: Homecoming opens July 7. The web-shooter toys for the film fire a dart without string.